InterMedia Insights 4.11.2016

Hot Media Trends for April 11, 2016

NBCUniversal and Vox Media announce Concert, a partnership offering digital advertising in high-quality content, data targeting and a large, fraud-free audience that the entity says results in performance that’s 12 times what the average banner ad delivers. The partnership follows NBCU’s $200 million investment last year in Vox, whose digital properties reach 170 million affluent and educated young adults in the coveted millennial generation. (Read More on Response Magazine)

Cable Network Reach Helping Ad Sales although individual cable networks can have low “reach” among TV viewers, combining their group broadcast networks can make them more attractive to TV marketers, according to a senior research analyst for Pivotal Research Group. For example, NBCUniversal’s broadcast and cable networks offer up a combined reach of 93% for TV homes watching in a particular month, versus 78% for just NBC’s cable networks and 84% for the NBC Television Network. Fox totals a 91% reach for all its networks, with a 74% reach for its cable networks and 81% for the Fox broadcast network. Disney has a combined 91% for its broadcast and cable channels. “A network group combining sales efforts in this manner should be better able to fight for a first look at a marketer’s ‘wallet’ (and a disproportionate share of spending) and serve as a foundation for a given marketer’s efforts with the medium.” (Read More on MediaPost)

The average user of AM/FM radio switches the station 22 times per car trip, according to a new survey by Edison Research. In contrast, during commutes of 20 minutes or more, Edison says drivers using other audio platforms average just 9.3 changes per commute. Edison found that switch rates varied depending on listener’s age, format and whether a driver had other platforms, including satellite radio or streaming audio, available in the vehicle. Edison surveyed 1,117 adults who are employed and commute 20 minutes or more, and listen to audio content in their vehicle. Among respondents, Edison found three types of in-car listeners: 21% are “The Restless,” who change channels constantly; 52% are “The Seekers” who occasionally switch; and 27% are “The Keepers” who are mostly loyal to one station. That means three-quarters of commuters are likely to switch stations at least occasionally during their commutes. (Read more on Inside Radio)

Pay TV providers could lose money on deals made with every single TV network group should growth rates from subscribers’ fees continue. Bernstein Research analysis, along with SNL Kagan research, says gross profit margins — which now average 25% for pay TV providers — are projected to fall to 17% in 2018. They will be zero in 2023 if trends continue. Aggregate affiliate fees on average for cable, satellite and telco TV companies could rise from $45 per subscriber to $58 in 2018 and $90 in 2023 if expected growth rates continue. Customers expenses, including marketing, will grow from $16 per month per subscriber currently to $18 in 2018 and $22 in 2023. (Read more on MediaPost)

This and That…

Why Amazon’s robots aren’t displacing people

Amazon fulfillment centers now boast about 30,000 merchandise-moving Kiva robots and about 230,000 humans who bring skills the machines don’t have. “Once you get into more unstructured environments, involving objects with different shape and size and material properties, as well as unpredictable spatial arrangements of multiple objects, it is still cheaper to hire humans,” robotics researcher Emanuel Todorov said. (Read more in the Seattle Times)

Pinterest plays up data-driven marketing strategies

Pinterest aims to win over big-brand marketers with data-driven offerings that have targeting features that let brands get better results despite posting less content. “It isn’t about putting more content on the platform — it’s about putting the right content and then targeting to the right people at the right time,” said Jill Sherman of DigitasLBi. (Read more in Adweek)

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